Reds' roster keeps changing as fan favorite hits free agency and Mariners claim outfielder

The Cincinnati Reds cleared two more 40-man roster spots this week. On Thursday, infielder Ivan Johnson was outrighted and assigned to Triple-A Louisville. Injured slugger Michael Toglia won't return in 2027 either after being claimed by the Seattle Mariners.

The most significant roster move, however, came on Friday when longtime outfielder Will Benson elected free agency. He was designated for assignment earlier this season, but went unclaimed and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Much like TJ Friedl, Benson understands that his time with the Reds organization has ended, and he's now set to explore other opportunities.

None of these three players were expected to return to the Reds roster in 2027, but the avalanche of roster moves since the 2026 season has ended is a painful reminder of how many marginal players were actually part of this year's team.

Reds continue to purge roster ahead of what's like to be a busy offseason

Johnson, Tolgia Benson, and Friedl are four players who spent far too much time on the Reds' 40-man roster. To make matters worse, a player like Christian Encarnacion-Strand — who was pre-arbitration eligible and had minor league options remaining — was DFA'd and has since turned into a capable starter for the Baltimore Orioles.

Johnson appeared in 16 games, Toglia played in 10, Benson logged another 51, and Friedl was on the field for 91 contests. Throw in Will Banfield, P.J. Higgins, and Rece Hinds, and that's another 36 games combined. All told, those seven players accounted for 522 plate appearances. That's close to 9% of the team total.

In the grand scheme of things, that's not a major chunk of playing time. But when to calculate all that, and add to it the unprodcutive play from Ke'Bryan Hayes, Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, and Matt McLain, you begin to understand why the Reds offense struggled so mightily in 2026.

This is an area that Nick Krall and Brad Meador must address during the offseason. Cincinnati needs to get deeper, and not just with their position players. The same sentiment holds true for the pitching staff as well. Krall and Co. have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is slated to expire on December 1.

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